


A Blast From the Past

by FanFics4allppl



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Howard Stark appears in NYC, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Protective Bruce, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Tony Angst, Tony-centric, because Loki, no one likes magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 22:52:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15568113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFics4allppl/pseuds/FanFics4allppl
Summary: During a battle with Loki, Howard Stark appears out of nowhere in NYC. Tony Stark is not amused out of obvious reasons.





	A Blast From the Past

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm eight chapters deep in another story (14,000,605), but this plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone...

''Magic? _Magic?_ Are you trying to pull a trick on me _boy_?'' the older man exclaimed, standing up quickly. It made Tony flinch just enough that the man noticed it. ''Huh. You really are him. Still so easily scared.''

''Let me tell you something, Howard,'' Tony said, standing his ground. ''I'm not a small helpless child anymore, you don't scare me.''

''First name basis, huh? I'm not so sure I ever let you do that.''

''You're not listening. I'm not some dumb kid-''

''No. _You're_ not listening. You may not be so small anymore, but I'm still your father and I can still easily kick your ass if I want to.''

Tony glared at him. ''So,'' Howard continued, ''have you found an _actual_ explanation yet?''

The younger man sighed. ''I told you. Magic. A god from Norse mythology accidentally ripped a hole in the fabric of space-time and made a wormhole through time instead of space.''

''I will not ask again-''

''And I won't repeat myself-''

Tony didn't have enough time to dodge the fist that flew into his jaw. He was thrown back and he fell onto the floor. His hand shot to the left side of his face to check for damage. He could feel something wet on his fingers and palm.

''No, you will not. Especially if you're going to be spewing nonsense like that,'' the man out of time said while rubbing the knuckles on his right hand to wipe away some of the blood. ''Are there any actual scientists in this building or am I going to have to do everything by myself like usually?''

Tony stood up and headed towards the door, his left hand still at his jaw. ''I have three doctorates, you know,'' he said trying to keep some of his dignity.

''Yes, well, money will get you only so far, kid.''

Tony stopped. He wanted to turn around and give his old man a taste of his repulsor blasts, but that would probably get him suspended from the team for at least a week. Which would mean he couldn't help catch Loki to make him send Howard back. And that would mean Howard would stay longer than necessary. _Next idea?_

He typed in the code with his right hand, his body cautiously turned so Howard couldn't see what he was pressing. He stepped out and shut the door behind him.

The other five Avengers were waiting for him in various places – Thor was calmly standing beside the wall, Bruce was standing next to him, but was cleaning his glasses, an obvious sign of worry, Steve was pacing up and down the hall, nervous as hell, and Natasha and Clint were sitting on the floor playing rock paper scissors. When the door opened, though, they all looked up at him.

''Well? Any idea if it's actually Howard Stark?'' Steve hastily asked.

''Y-yeah,'' Tony stuttered. _Stuttered._ He hadn't even had a stutter when he was a kid. He composed himself before continuing. ''It's him. I'm sure.''

Tony could see a gleam in Steve's eye. The man was obviously happy that he wasn't the only person out of time, especially when the other person was someone he knew.

Bruce stepped in front of Tony and put his right hand over Tony's left which he still kept on his jaw and was getting a bit bloody. ''What happened?''

Tony shook his head. _Not now._

''Thor, buddy,'' Tony started, ''how about you go in and tell him what happened?''

Thor frowned in confusion. ''Did you not tell him?''

Tony was quiet, as if contemplating what answer to give. ''Just… Go explain.''

''Can I go, too?'' Steve asked. ''I mean, I don't want to make him feel crowded or something.''

''No, no. Of course you can go together,'' Tony said, impatient to get away from the room.

''Okay,'' smiled Steve and practically ran in, apparently oblivious to the fact that Tony was obviously injured. Thor went after the blonde, but only after looking at Bruce to confirm Tony'd be getting medical attention.

The door closed behind them. Clint and Natasha were already up and standing next to Tony and Bruce. ''Dude, you okay?'' asked Clint, looking at the bloody hand.

Tony closed his eyes. ''I think I might need stitches.''

Bruce nodded, confirming the idea, then led the way to the medical bay.

***

''So… Howard wasn't very convinced you were his son, or something?'' Clint asked, while Bruce was stitching Tony up. The engineer's eyes were shut tight in pain, but his jaw was mostly relaxed. ''Was that why he punched you?''

Natasha smacked his head. ''He can't talk right now, idiot.'' ''Ow,'' the archer responded.

''There we go. That should do it,'' Bruce said, pulling the needle fully out and standing up to put it away. He sat back down and put a bandage onto the stitched wound to avoid infection.

Tony opened his eyes, but kept his gaze fixed to the floor. He was somewhat hunched over in the chair, almost like he didn't want to be there.

''Tony?'' Bruce asked. ''You have to know that he'll soon be allowed to roam the halls freely. If there's anything we should know it would be wise to tell us before that happens.''

Tony's hands started fidgeting, a rare sign of the inventor's nervousness.

''He… He wasn't really an A+ parent,'' was all he said.

''Did he hit you?'' Bruce pressed on, his yes slowly turning a dark shade of green – not enough for the Hulk to come out, but a definite sign of anger.

''…Yes,'' Tony quietly admitted. He hasn't told this to anyone. The only people who knew were his abusive father, his helpless mother, and their butler Edwin Jarvis.

''Wait. When you were smaller or when you were in his room earlier?'' Clint asked, alarmed.

 ''Yes.''

Natasha, Bruce, and Clint were all quiet. No one knew what to say. Then they heard a quiet noise coming from Tony.

Sobbing.

''I really thought that part of my life was over,'' he said, sniffing. ''Turns out it's not. Who would've thought?'' he smirked, tears streaming down his cheeks. ''He hit me because I told him the truth. You know, that magic brought him here. He… When I told him I had three doctorates he said that apparently there's nothing money can't buy these days… No matter what I do… Even if I show him what I've done with SI and with all of my armours…'' He paused. ''I'll never be good enough, will I? ''

''Tony,'' Bruce whispered. He leaned forward toward Tony's chest. ''You're amazing-''

''No, don't,'' Tony softly interrupted and flinched back when he felt Bruce's breath on his neck.

''Hey,'' the Doctor tried calming down his boyfriend. ''It's okay,'' he said, lifting his arms to envelop Tony in a protective hug.

''No.'' This time it was sharp and Tony stood up, walking a few steps away. ''I can't let him see this. Us. He thinks of me in the worst way possible as is. I don't need him treating you like garbage, too.''

''Let him try,'' said Bruce, determined. ''And have a camera ready for when he meets the Hulk.'' Bruce smiled a dark smile. ''You know, technically, he's currently not in the system, so I could actually get away with smashing him, because he legally isn't a civilian…''

''But Fury would suspend you. It's not worth it,'' Tony concluded.

''The man is right, though,'' Clint interjected. ''If he starts treating Bruce badly, too, then he deserves to be smashed. And if I see him treat you badly in _any way_ , I will accidentally shoot him on purpose.''

''Diddo,'' said Natasha, coldly glaring at the floor.

Tony looked around. No one was making fun of him. They were all serious about protecting him.

He was tearing up again. ''Thanks guys, really,'' he said, and let Bruce hug him. He put his own arms around Bruce and leaned his forehead onto his boyfriend's shoulder.

Bruce held him firmly while Tony's body shook with sobs.

***

As expected, Howard was let out of the room the next day, a ramification of one Steve Rogers standing up for him. Of course there were a few rules he was supposed to follow. He ignored them without worry. Of course.

The Avengers were having a meeting. Fury was telling them about some of Doom's recent attacks in Europe. They had just started talking about a plan of action, when the doors were thrown open, and in walked Howard Stark.

''Why hello there,'' he said, winking at Natasha. Clint put a hand on her arm when she reached for one of her hidden knives in a successful attempt to stop her.

Howard looked around the room and waved at Fury, who wasn't amused, to say the least. Then his gaze stopped on Bruce. He walked towards the scientist.

''Hi. We haven't been introduced yet. Howard Stark,'' he said and offered a hand to shake. When Bruce didn't move from his seat, the older man let his arm drop and continued talking. ''You don't really look that athletic, so you must be one of the smart ones. Probably the brains of the team, judging by who else is in the room.''

''He's actually one of our two heavy hitters,'' Tony told him.

''No one asked you anything, boy. Now, where were we?'' Howard asked, his eyes never straying to look at his son. ''You probably want to escape this stupid boring meeting. So let me offer you a deal. I get you out of this room, you get me out of this time. And please, for the love of God, if someone mentions magic again, I swear I'm going to start throwing things.''

''Howard Stark. Can you find your way out of here or do I need to call my agents to escort you?'' Fury said, his almost non-existent patience growing thinner by the second.

''Well that depends,'' the cocky man responded. ''Are any of your agents hot women and will they be the ones to escort me out?''

''OUT.'' Fury bellowed.

''Fine, fine. Jeez, what a buzzkill. I expect to see you in my lab when I get it,'' he said, looking at Bruce and Natasha.

''Acting like Tony Stark's gonna turn into a compliment if this guy's staying any longer than necessary,'' chipped Clint. ''He's a dick.''

Steve looked at him. ''He's really not that ba-''

''Don't even finish that sentence, Cap. Hush,'' the archer interrupted. He looked at Fury and nodded at him to continue the meeting.

And continue he did.

Tony couldn't help looking at Clint. When the man caught him looking, he smiled at Tony, who in turn nodded his thanks.

***

The battle with the Doombots, in Germany or something, went well for the most part. 'The most part' didn't include the Iron Man armour getting away unscathed.

One of the bots managed to squeeze the suit right between the neck and the left shoulder, so it was uncomfortably pressing onto Tony's collarbone. He didn't dare move his arm too much in fear of actually breaking his collarbone.

In the end, though, he broke his right arm while trying to protect his face with only one hand.

Tony was pretty sure it was an open fracture of the ulna, but he couldn't see it because the armour itself wasn't that damaged. And how does that even happen?

The battle was over when they knocked out the right robot. It was somehow connected to Doom, so it acted as a commander. With it offline, the others just more or less shut down.

When they all got back to the quinjet (a de-Hulked Bruce, too), Bruce checked them over for injuries. There were a few standard cuts and bruises on everyone sans him. Steve's and Thor's were healing right before his eyes anyway, Natasha was quite okay, Clint was whining about a possible sprained ankle, so Bruce stabilized it with bandages, and then there was Tony.

Bruce, still clad only in the stretchy shorts which the Science Bros made not that long ago, pulled him to the side to try and pry his armour off his left shoulder. They somehow managed to do that just as they landed on the Helicarrier.

Bruce took Tony directly to the medical wing to check for any damage caused by the pressure on the collarbone. He luckily found only skin bruises and nothing worse. He then made Tony take off the rest of the suit and was unpleasantly surprised to see Tony's right arm all bloody up to the elbow.

''That's kind of more important than the clavicle, don't you think?'' Bruce asked his boyfriend while patching up the gory wound.

''In my opinion, no,'' Tony replied. He was on some heavy painkillers or something, because he couldn't feel his arm at all. ''The damage here was done. My collarbone wasn't broken yet.''

Bruce smiled. ''Okay, good point. Still, you could've mentioned it in an attempt to not make me have a heart attack.''

Tony smiled back. ''You know, I love this banter, too.''

''I believe you do. Especially if you get the good stuff, right?'' Bruce teased, making reference to the drugs.

''Well, of course. But, you know what else I love?''

''Me?'' smirked Bruce.

''Sure, me, too, that's obvious, I love myself. I was actually going to say you,'' Tony joked, leaning forward and disturbing Bruce's work.

''As much as I love this conversation and you, I'd like to ask to not lean into my field of vision, because I'm actually doing something important, ''Bruce said, pausing the mini operation.

''Okay. Just one kiss and then I leave you to do what you must. Sound good?'' the engineer asked.

''Very,'' the other man replied, leaning forward into the kiss. It grew heated fast, but it stopped even quicker when Tony hissed because he'd moved his right hand.

Bruce laughed at his pouting face after the kiss ended. ''Wait till I'm done. Then we can take this to my room. How about that?''

''Even better,'' Tony smiled, already in a better mood.

***

Tony walked into the common kitchen in Avengers Tower. His right hand was bandaged, but he straight out refused to wear a sling.

He got his daily dose of coffee and gulped it down like a fish on land. He opened the fridge to see what was inside.

''So, what's up with you?''

Tony jumped back and turned around to face his father. He closed the fridge behind his back.

''I'm not sure I know what you're talking about,'' he honestly said.

Howard started walking closer. ''I was up on the helicarrier yesterday, walking around, minding my own business, when I accidentally stumbled upon the medical wing.''

 _Oh shit._ Tony had a bad feeling of where this was going.

''And, well, I walked by a few windows and then – who would've known – my son making out with a doctor. His good Doctor. Doctor Banner, if I recall his name correctly.'' He stopped to glare at the younger man. ''I hope you have a good excuse for this one time mingling. Well, do you have anything to say for yourself, boy?''

Tony looked at him defiantly. ''It wasn't a 'one time mingling'.''

''You lost me,'' said Howard.

''And then I'm the stupid one,'' Tony mumbled to himself. ''He's my boyfriend,'' he stated boldly.

''Your-'' Howard gagged. '' _Your boyfriend?!_ '' he exlaimed, visibly shaken. He walked towards Tony and stopped right in front of him, towering over the slightly smaller man. ''I really hope that means something else in this day and age than it did in the previous century, because _my son is not a cock-sucking faggot!_ ''

Tony flinched at the raised volume. He couldn't look his father in the eyes if he tried.

As if on cue, that was the moment when Bruce and Steve walked into the common room connected to the kitchen. ''What's going on here?'' the blonde asked, seeing his two friends standing close to each other, one looking livid, the other shaking obscurely.

''Did you know he was in a relationship with a- a _man_?!'' Howard asked, decidedly not looking at Banner.

''Well, yeah. He's with Bruce. Has been for a while now,'' Steve answered calmly.

Howard's eyes were wide in surprise. ''And you're not _repulsed_ by this?!''

Steve scratched his neck, thinking of how to explain. ''Howard, it's not the 40's anymore. This isn't that uncommon. Men date men, women date women, transgender rights are being fought for… It's nice. People get to be happy without being shunned for who they are or who they love.''

Howard kept staring. ''But why would a _man_ choose to love a _man_? It's just so… So unnatural! They're freaks!''

Steve sighed. This was not going to be easy. ''Look, you don't _choose_ to love anyone. It's just how it is. If you don't accept it, then at least keep the dirty commentary to yourself.''

Bruce walked over to the two Starks and took Tony's hand in his own. ''Come on, let's get some takeout.'' He was looking at Howard, his eyes dark green, his stare cold.

The older man was in obvious discomfort. He took a step back from the couple like they were carrying a contagious disease. When they were close to the door, he called after them, suddenly bold. ''And don't bother coming back as long as you're like this!''

Bruce stopped. Tony gripped his hand tighter and tried pulling him after him, but it was in vain. ''Bruce, please,'' he silently begged.

The Doctor let go of Tony's hand and turned towards the elder Stark. He walked back to the older man, his slightly bigger frame towering over Howard, the image eerily similar to what was between the Starks when Bruce and Steve walked in, only this time Howard was the submissive one.

''Listen, you moron,'' Bruce started, startling Howard. ''I've heard of how you were acting around your family. You weren't really an exemplary father or husband. I had a father like that, too. Thing is, I inherited his bad temper. Now, usually, that wouldn't be such a problem, because I know how to behave. The difference between me and everyone else is that you _really_ wouldn't like me when I'm angry. I bet you've seen some footage of our team in action. All six of us. You know that giant angry green guy? That's me. That's what happens if I let my anger loose.'' He paused to watch the other man's eyes fill with fear when they spotted the green tinge. He leaned closer and whispered into Howard's ear. ''I know when you died. If you wish that date to change to today, just say the word, and I'll gladly help you.''

He turned around and walked out of the room, taking Tony's hand in his as he walked past him.

Steve was now alone with the suddenly quiet Stark. He heard Bruce's promise because of his better hearing, and although he thought it was a bit much, he agreed with the man tat Howard had crossed the line. This wasn't the person Steve had known during the war.

When the blonde later found them eating Indian food in their lab, he sat down next to them. They looked up.

''Tony, I'm sorry. I always said you father was a great man, but I never knew-''

''It's okay, Steve, really,'' said Tony.

''No, it's not. Treating your family like that is never okay. I just wish that the Howard who was brought to us was the one I knew. You'd have caught on like a house on fire.''

Tony smiled fondly. ''Yeah, I'm sure we would've.''

***

It took two weeks, but they managed to find Loki and send Howard back.

When his father was gone, Tony looked around at his teammates. They were all happy to see the arrogant selfish man gone. In the past two weeks they all protected him from Howard, they all did their best to make him feel welcome even when Howard was close by.

But Tony realized they weren't acting any differently than usual.

They've always been fond of him, even when his snarky comments made them look at him sternly.

They've always had his back, no matter the situation.

He wasn't good enough for his father, and he probably never could be because of the double standards, but he didn't care about that anymore.

The Avengers were his family now, and they all accepted him for who he was. They knew all of his strong suits and all of his weaknesses, but they still kept him around, because they liked him and trusted him.

And in the end, that was what mattered the most.

 

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it, thank you for reading!


End file.
